Travelling by car

Travelling by car

There is nothing better than travelling by a fast car.

You just sit down at the steering wheel, start the motor, step on the accelerator with your foot and off goes the car. You can go as slowly or as fast as you wish, stop when and where you choose; you park the car on the side of the road, get out and go wherever you like.

It is quite true that driving a car has some disadvantages. In town it is rather a nuisance with all those traffic «jams» or «hold - ups», round-abouts, detours and so on. It is not pleasant at all when you ride on a bumpy road or get a flat tyre, or still worse, when you get stuck in the mud.

But what can be better than a spin in a car on a week-end with your friend? As soon as you get out of the crowded town and see a long wide road in full view, what a thrill it is to feel the car rush forward at a touch of your foot, to feel the wind in your face, to see houses, trees find people flash past, to feel the real joy of speed.

Then, of course, you see much more of the country than you do in a plane.

Suppose you are on vacation and have decided to take a trip in a car. What magnificent views you behold on your way — green fields, a road winding its way up the mountain with steep, grey cliffs on one side and a deep precipice on the other, a shining expanse of the sea wrapped in a blue noonday haze, the woods, the rows of acacia that stretch along the streets of the towns you pass through. Indeed your impressions are unforgettable.

To car or not to car?

Many people think that the car is the most convenient and flexible mode of transport. Other think travelling by car is slow due to increasing traffic problem in our cities, or they are concerned about the effect of pollution.

More and more are buying and using cars. They are becoming cheaper and safer and are considered to be a very convenient way of travelling. However, as more people use cars, so the roads are becoming busier and delays occur, making the car very slow. In addition, the fact that there are more cars means there is more pollution. We have to start thinking about how we can resolve these problems.

Personally, I think it is unrealistic to expect everyone to stop using their cars. Public transport systems are often unreliable and expensive, and journeys are not always straightforward, so cars are faster and more convenient. However, soon  the roads will be at a standstill, so I do think it is necessary to try and encourage people to use other transport when they can or to limit their car journeys. One way to do this would be to put an extra charge on driving in the city, as happens in London. Another would be to set up more car-pooling schemes such as those they have in California. Furthermore. more money should be invested in public transport, especially in cities, to encourage people to use it more.

At the moment, there are more and more roads being built, and soon the countryside will resemble a car park, with lorries and cars stuck in jams. We need cars, but we have to stop them dominanting the environment. Interestingly, the slow traffic may, eventually, be the main reason why people turn to other method of transport.